I learned most of what I know about business by spending most of the last twenty years in Silicon Valley. I learned all of what I know about common sense growing up in The South. A catch phrase in Silicon Valley is: “It’s not a Bug, it’s a Feature!”. An equally quoted phrase in The South would be “If it ain’t Broke, Don’t fix it!”.
Which leads me to features and benefits and things that might not be broke, but still need fixin’.
So, what’s the difference between a feature and a benefit and how does it affect your business? A feature is any characteristic of your product. A benefit is anything that helps your customer achieve their goal or solve a problem. I love my Honda Pilot SUV. It has tons of features: cup holders everywhere, tons of room in the back (because sometimes a girl needs to be able to haul things), and a seat that goes way up and scoots very close to the steering wheel. This last is the reason I bought the car and the biggest benefit to me.
You see, on a good hair day when the moon is in the seventh house and Jupitor aligns with Mars (raise your hand if you can name that tune), I’m almost…five feet tall. Yes my darlings, I’m quite vertically challenged, and this challenge is never more apparent than when I’m in Home Depot (what is the deal with the shelves in that place?) and when I’m driving. My Honda’s biggest benefit to me is the fact that when I’m driving I can SEE. I can see around bushes, fences, over other cars, tall people at the bus stop, or any other obstacle I come across while driving. I think you’ll agree that seeing is a big deal when you’re driving.
So, not that I don’t love my cup holders and that there’s three outlets to plug in my cell phone, my ipod and my computer, the biggest benefit, to me as a customer, is that my Honda lets me see, and because of that, I feel safer driving. Ahh, and that would be another benefit now wouldn’t it: feeling safe while driving. Getting your customers to feel good about your product, well, that’s the home run we’re all looking for.
In almost any sales class I’ve ever been to, the standard example for the Features vs. Benefits paradigm is the quarter inch drill bit. Thousands of quarter inch drill bits are sold in Home Depot’s and Lowes’s (Loweses?) and Hardware stores across the land, probably millions all over the world. But, here’s an interesting thing about ALL of those purchases: not ONE person purchasing one of those drill bits actually WANTS a quarter inch drill bit. Not one of them. None. Zip. Zilcho.
What DO they want?
A quarter inch hole.
The benefit of the quarter inch drill bit is the quarter inch hole.
That is the perfect example of the difference between a feature and benefit. A benefit in some way, well, benefits, your customer. I’d say the three outlets in my car are also a benefit. Yes, they’re a feature too, but having three outlets means that I can charge my phone and, at the same time, listen to a webinar or podcast I’ve downloaded that I’m going to use to inspire myself to write a post for this blog. Writing posts for this blog helps me get traffic, traffic helps me get better google page rank, and that means more people see my articles and they send other people to my site and then more people get on my list and I get to help even more people start profitable successful businesses. I’d say my three outlets are one heck of a benefit, what about you? ☺
So, here’s yet another thing to think about when running your business or reviewing your marketing strategy or business plan: Are you trying to sell your customer drill bits or holes?
